Hasta La Gadget!

If you got in quick and ordered your Verizon iPhone early you might just be getting a surprise in the mail this morning. We’ve heard from a number of people that their special somethings were out for delivery, but our man Chris was the first to provide conclusive proof, freshly in the door and photographed for your viewing pleasure. Still haven’t ordered yours and are on the fence? We can help.

[Thanks, Chris]

Continue reading First Verizon iPhones now being received, FedEx now awaiting your impatient calls

First Verizon iPhones now being received, FedEx now awaiting your impatient calls originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Call us crazy, but we’re having a hard time interpreting this line of fine print in any other way:

“To activate WiFi functionality on this device, a minimum of one month data subscription is required.”

That’s listed under Best Buy’s most recent ad highlighting the world’s first Android 3.0 tablet, and it most certainly sounds both ominous and ridiculous. Hardcore Verizon followers may remember the days of Big Red crippling Bluetooth radios in phones in order to “coerce” users to purchase ringtones and such from them rather than snagging one on the subway from Tom, Dick and / Jane, so we definitely wouldn’t put something like this by the company. It’s hard to say how this will be implemented once the $800 Xoom hits retail shelves, but it’s certainly hard to believe that this is a Best Buy policy (and not a Verizon mandate). We’ll be digging for more details (after all, this could all be some strange, terrible dream), but we’ll be straight with you — we don’t like the potential implications here.

Update: We’re hearing from some Best Buy Mobile employees that these simply won’t be able to be sold without being first activated on Verizon’s network, so even though you could theoretically cancel the same day, you’ll still likely get hit with a one-time activation fee (and possibly one month of data). Then again, there appears to be typos on the flyer, so you may want to wait for Verizon’s official word before getting up in arms.

[Thanks, Michael]

Verizon locking WiFi on Motorola Xoom until you buy one month of data service? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Feb 2011 19:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And with that, it’s officially On Like Donkey Kong. A flood of tipsters have confirmed this morning that Best Buy stores around the nation are now accepting pre-orders for HTC’s titillating Thunderbolt. We knew good and well this day was coming, but if you’ve got $50 socked away to put towards it, today’s the day to get in line. We’re hearing from numerous stores that the phone will be available for pickup on February 14th, so feel free to pre-order two — you know, for that special someone in your life. Let us know how your experience goes in comments below.

Update: We’ve got it on good authority that new and upgrade pricing for this here handset is set at $249.99 with a two-year contract.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Best Buy opens up in-store pre-orders for HTC Thunderbolt: $50 to claim yours

Best Buy opens up in-store pre-orders for HTC Thunderbolt: $50 to claim yours originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Feb 2011 11:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We get it AT&T, your iPhone can do voice and data at the same time, and Verizon’s can’t. Big Red’s Test Man proved that calls aren’t always doomed to drop on the iPhone, but AT&T’s firing right back and saying how you could be doomed in certain social situations, like forgetting to make a dinner reservation on your anniversary. Props for creativity here, but now that both sides have fired a shot across the other’s bow, can’t we all just get along? Yeah, probably not.

AT&T fires back with latest iPhone ad: simultaneous voice and web more important than you think (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In this week’s podcast, Brian X. Chen and Dylan Tweney discuss the Verizon iPhone, AT&T’s new tethering and hot-spot features, and News Corp.’s new iPad newspaper.

First up is our review of the Verizon iPhone, which really does have better coverage based on our tests. Suddenly, the iPhone is a phone, Brian says — although when you can get a signal, the AT&T iPhone has much faster data download and upload speeds.

We talk about the Verizon iPhone’s hot-spot feature: For an extra $20 per month, you can share your wireless connection with up to five devices via Wi-Fi. That compares to AT&T’s tethering option, which costs the same amount but only lets you connect one other device.

AT&T now offers a hot-spot feature too, but on an HTC 4G smartphone coming later this month. It has also improved its tethering plan by adding an extra 2GB of data.

We talk about News Corp.’s new iPad-only newspaper, The Daily. It will cost $1 per week or $40 per year. While the content is promising, the app is a little sluggish, and we have some doubts about the business model.

Finally, we talk about how the internet is running out of space. The last IPv4 addresses were handed out this week, and over the next few years, we may see slowdowns and glitches as companies start transitioning to a different version of the internet’s basic protocol.

—

You can listen to the audio-only version of the show here:

Gadget Lab audio podcast #102
http://downloads.wired.com/podcasts/assets/gadgetlabaudio/GadgetLabAudio0102.mp3

Or download the OGG version of Gadget Lab podcast #102.

Like the show? You can also get the Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or if you don’t want to be distracted by our unholy on-camera talent, subscribe to the Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab video or audio podcast feeds